Laws of the Land!

Jan 11

Laws of the Land

In addition to being a wonderfully written Dungeons and Dragons adventure. D&D Waterdeep Dragon Heist book contains a powerful Dungeon Master resource called 'Laws of the Land'. These are rules that fully describe the guidelines for punishments from a simple drawing of weapons, to assault, impersonating a noble, property damage to much larger crimes such as murder, and using magic to influence an official. We found that many of the actions on this list are something that player characters tend to do freely. An essential aspect of any roleplaying game is to ensure consequences for actions taken. For better, or for worse. In this episode, we share our thoughts on each one of these laws and its punishment.

Punishment for a crime can include one or more of the following~ based on the nature of the crime, who or what the crime is committed against, and the criminal record of the convicted:

Death Exile (for a number of years or summers)
Flogging (a set number of strokes)
Hard labor (for a period of days, months, or years depending~ on the seriousness of the crime)
Imprisonment in the dungeons of Castle Waterdeep (for a period of days or months depending on the seriousness of the crime)
Fine (payable to the city; inability to pay the fine leads to imprisonment and/or hard labor)
Damages (payable to the injured party or victim's kin; inability to pay damages leads to imprisonment and/or hard labor)
Edict (forbidding the convicted from doing something; violation of an edict can result in imprisonment, hard labor, and/or a line)

I. Crimes against Lords, Officials, and Nobles

Assaults or impersonating a Lord: death A
Assaulting or impersonating an official or noble: floggin~ imprisonment up to a tenday, and fine up to 500 gp
Blackmailing an official: Flogging and exile up to 10 years
Bribery or attempted bribery of an official: exile up to 20 years and fine up to double the bribe amount
Murder of a Lord, official, or noble: death
Using magic to influence a Lord or official without consent: imprisonment up to a year, and fine or damages up to 1,000 gp (applies to all categories)

II. Crimes against the City

Arson: Death or hard labor up to 1 year, with fines and /or damages covering the cost of repairs plus 2,000 gp
Brandishing weapons without due cause: imprisonment up to a tenday and/or fine up to 10 gp
Espionage: death or permanent exile
Fencing stolen goods: fine equal to the value of the stolen goods and edict
Forgery of an official document: flogging and exile for 10 summers
Hampering justice: fine up to 200 gp and hard labor up to a tenday
Littering: fine up to 2 gp and edict
Poisoning a city well: death
Theft: flogging followed by imprisonment up to a tenday, hard labor up to a year, or fine equal to the value of the stolen goods
Treason: death
Vandalism: imprisonment up to a tenday plus fine and/or damages covering the cost of repairs plus up to 100 gp

III. Crimes against the Gods

Assaulting a priest or lay worshiper: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages up to 500 SP
Disorderly conduct within a temple: line up to 5 8P and edict).
Public blasphemy against a god or church: edict
Theft of temple goods or offering: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages up to double the cost of the stolen items
Tomb-robbing: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages covering the cost of repairs plus 500 gp

IV. Crimes against Citizens

Assaulting a citizen: imprisonment up to a tenday, flogging~ and damages up to 1,000 gp
Blackmailing or intimidating a citizen: fine or damages up to 500 SP and edict
Burglary: imprisonment up to 3 months and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 500 gp
Damaging property or livestock: damages covering the cost of repairs or replacement plus up to 500 gp
Disturbing the peace: fine up to 25 gp and edict
Murdering a citizen without justification: death or hard labor up to 10 years, and damages up to 1,000 gp paid to the victim’s kin
Murdering a citizen with justification: exile up to 5 years or hard labor up to 3 years or damages up to 1,000 gp paid to the victim's kin
Robbery: hard labor up to l month and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 500 gp
Slavery: flogging and hard labor up to 10 years

Get your copy of D&D Waterdeep Dragon Heist here!

Unearthed Tips and Tricks! We bring you new and creative content for you to bring with you on your next adventure.

Character Concept:

Luke W.

The stitcher!

This character in their spare time is always enjoys stitching clothing, items and and maybe even toys for kids.

This behaviour is also an OCD condition, something to keep the characters attention busy during down times.

Great for a healer class. Using magic reflavored as a magical stitching process. Stitching back wounds magically, even spectral images of tearing into the victims mind to heal it.

Monster Variant: Snatching Manticore

Origin: Manticore

New Features:

Flyby: The manticore doesn’t provoke an opp attack when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.

Swoop: If the manticore flies at least 30 feet and hits a medium or smaller creature with its claw attack, the target is grappled(Escape DC 13) and restrained while the manticore flies upward with it at half its speed. If a dropped target strikes a solid surface, the target is knocked prone and takes 3(1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was dropped. If the target is dropped at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.

Encounter:

This land is my land!

Two local farmers are having a dispute about who owns the rights to plot of land where a small cave was discovered by the farmer's children. The children were struck with an illness, while in the cave. The farmers learned that the cave was full of poisonous gas as well as lots of gold to be mined. The two farmers are doing whatever they can in order to ensure they have the rights to the small cave. This includes, bribery, forgery of papers and maybe even threats of family war. The heroes are hired by one side to settle the their claim to the land and clear the poison from the cave.

Magic Item:

Jeff Stevens’ “The Madhouse of Tasha’s Kiss”

Tasha’s Singing Sword

Weapon (shortsword), very rare

You gain +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls using this shortsword. The shortsword deals an additional 1d4 thunder damage on a successful hit.

While in the possession of a creature, the sword hums a melody the creature finds soothing or inspiring. Only the creature in possession of the weapon can hear the music.

When used in combat, the sword sings loudly, breaking out into a massive chorus of multiple voices. The emeralds in the hilt light up, pulsing with the rhythm of the song.

Dungeon Master Tip:

@PinkDiceGM on twitter

Rumors; the good, the bad, the ugly

In recent games, I require players to write 5 rumors related to their character’s reputation: 2 good, 2 bad, 1 false. I later pass these out to others players as things their PCs would have overheard. It spawns great early roleplay!

Player Tip: Don’t be a Dick

Concede to the DM

It’s ok to disagree with your DM...to a point. When the DM makes a ruling that you’re not happy with, make your point without getting angry. In most cases a DM will be a bit flexible, but it's important to understand that DnD5e is very abstract compared to previous additions, thus a debate can arise much more frequently as our vision may not match 100% with what the DM is saying. A large argument can really ruin the experience for those other players in the game. If the DM doesn’t agree to change their ruling, just accept it and move on. After the game feel free to air your grievances.

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